American Strategic Deception Bureau

　What to choose.

　China's attitude towards the sudden nuclear acquisitions by its southern neighbors was complex. It wanted to stop them, but couldn't bring itself to do so. The nuclear weapons the Soviet Union had provided to Vietnam were merely miniature nuclear bombs with a yield of 1,000 tons. Meanwhile, the United States was bombarding North Vietnamese territory with nuclear warheads with a TNT yield of over a million tons, and even high-powered hydrogen bombs with a TNT yield of nine million tons. It couldn't force North Vietnam to simply take the beating without fighting back, could it?

　China's own atomic and hydrogen bombs can only be displayed at the Lop Nur test site for show, and do not have the actual combat capability to be dropped on the US military.

　In the end, Beijing could only hold its nose and acquiesce in the Viet Cong's possession of nuclear weapons, while praying to Marx, hoping that this crazy Vietnam War would end soon.

　But the result is that the two sides seem to be fighting more and more crazily - once this nuclear war starts, there is no way to stop it...

　-

　"From August to now, more than 200 nuclear bombs have been detonated on the battlefield of the Indochina Peninsula, with a total TNT equivalent of over 30 million tons!

　While most Vietnamese cities north of the 17th parallel were reduced to radioactive wastelands, the US defenses south of it were practically broken. Linh Giang, Dong Ha, and Hue, all near the 17th parallel, had been lost. It was unclear how long Da Nang could hold out. The local Marines had already mutinied three times; only God knew how many more atomic bombs their mental state could withstand.

　The situation in the south was also a mess. The Khmer Rouge guerrillas had surrounded Phnom Penh and were sending death squads to drop nuclear bombs on the city every few days, driving the US troops there crazy. The Viet Cong guerrillas in the Mekong Delta were also making a resurgence. Our army had used hydrogen bombs several times, but the effect seemed to be less than satisfactory.

　Even within a month, the area within 30 kilometers of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, was bombed three times by North Vietnamese suicide squads! Three times!

　Can you imagine how I felt, sitting in an embassy that was as solid as a bunker and watching a mushroom cloud rise every week?

　I heard that over 20 years ago, a Japanese man survived two consecutive atomic bombings from my country, first in Hiroshima and then in Nagasaki. He was praised by the Japanese as a "double-bomb survivor." But here I am in Saigon, having been "triple-bombed"!

　Of course, the situation in Saigon wasn't the most frustrating thing. I heard that someone in the 1st Marine Division had been bombed ten times by miniature atomic bombs!

　Hugh Hefner, the current U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam and owner of Playboy, drank sparkling wine from a goblet while nagging Fili about the hardships he had experienced in Vietnam for more than six months - well, it really makes people feel collapsed just thinking about it.

　"Actually, the situation in Saigon wasn't the worst. At least there were 100,000 troops stationed in Saigon alone. The Vietcong spies wouldn't be able to bury a nuclear bomb under the walls of the US military headquarters in Vietnam anytime soon. But Bangkok, Thailand, was even more dangerous.

　Under the command of General Abrams, commander of the US forces in Thailand, there are currently less than 20,000 US troops stationed in Bangkok, making it impossible to deploy a tight defense.

　To this end, the Pentagon is trying to persuade Congress to allow the provision of miniature atomic bombs to Vang Pao, the Miao warlord entrenched in Bangkok, to deal with the communists' "special nuclear strikes" - you can't expect an American army without nuclear bombs to defeat a Soviet army with nuclear bombs.

　Speaking of which, the world's smallest nuclear bomb, the W54, was invented by the United States and is now stored in a warehouse at a front-line base in West Germany..."

　"Huh? The Pentagon is actually going to equip indigenous monkeys in tropical Asia with atomic bombs? This is simply ridiculous!"

　Hugh Hefner shook his head. "I've heard of Vang Pao's reputation in Saigon. He's a money-grubber. If the Pentagon were to supply him with an atomic bomb and ask him to start a nuclear war, he'd definitely sell it and put the money in the bank to earn interest..."

　——In those days, there was no global Internet and satellite communications were just beginning to appear. Once the nuclear bomb was handed over, it would be impossible to remotely lock the phone: Having said that, even in the 21st century, secretly flashing the locked software to reopen the phone is a common thing, right?

　In this case, if the US military really provided W54 atomic bombs to Wang Bao's "Miao soldiers", the South Vietnamese puppet army, or the "pro-US puppets" such as the Suharto government in Indonesia, then given the degree of corruption among these forces, it would not be long before US atomic bombs would appear on the international arms black market.

　As for the W54 atomic bomb, its maximum range is smaller than its killing radius, and using it will most likely result in death, so it is particularly labor-intensive?

　This is not a problem at all for a suicide bombing!

　Maybe in a few days, even the workers who pick bananas in South American plantations will carry atomic bombs to the United Fruit Company to ask for a pay raise!

　The picture is so beautiful that I dare not look at it!

　"What can we do? To counter our nuclear attack, the Soviet Union has already provided the Viet Cong with miniature atomic bombs. Once these Soviet nuclear bombs reach the battlefield, some will inevitably leak out and appear on the international arms market. This situation is simply unstoppable."

　Fili shrugged. "In that case, the US can only use miniature atomic bombs to fight back and grab the market!"

　This is the so-called "broken window effect." If even one of the major nuclear powers were to violate the "nuclear non-proliferation principle" and sell off its nuclear weapons, the other powers would inevitably follow suit, selling off their nuclear arsenals in an attempt to seize a share of the global nuclear weapons market.

　...

　"So, now I've come to my senses—screw the president! Screw the secretary of state! Anyone who wants to do this kind of ridiculous job that requires watching mushroom clouds every other day can do it. Tomorrow I'm going to write a letter of resignation and send it to Washington. Let's see if Secretary Rusk still has the nerve to reprimand me!"

　Hugh Hefner said this angrily, and Fieri thought about it and nodded in agreement.

　After all, as a media tycoon and a self-made first-generation tycoon, he had invested heavily in helping the Democratic Party win the presidential election. After the victory, he should have been rewarded with a prestigious ambassadorial post. Instead, the new government inexplicably sent him to Saigon, South Vietnam, where he spent his days listening to gunfire and explosions, and admiring various "talking trees" and "walking atomic bombs" up close...

　How can this be called a reward? It's clearly a case of repaying kindness with enmity, isn't it?

　Therefore, according to the logic of American politics, President Kennedy and Secretary of State Rusk in the White House not only have no right to rebuke Hugh Hefner for leaving his post, but should also provide some compensation and comfort to this wealthy man who has suffered greatly.

　"According to normal human relations, the president should find you a better position and let you serve as ambassador for another year as an apology."

　Ferry sighed to Hugh Hefner, "Unfortunately, these aren't very good years. With the exception of Europe, the entire world is plagued by the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Who knows where in the world mushroom clouds will rise next year?"

　From the Middle East to Africa, the fuse seems to be crackling everywhere.

　So, if you want to move to a safer place to be an ambassador, I’m afraid it will be difficult to arrange it recently…”

　Author's words: PS: I have to say that Israel still has some martial ethics. In the past few days, it first launched air strikes on Lebanon to kill the backbone of Hezbollah, and then launched an expedition to Yemen. Regardless of whether the Jews are cruel or not, they did use thunder-like means to demonstrate their national prestige and military power. As long as they kill quickly enough, they can wipe out all those who are not obedient.

　There is a famine in Yemen and people in Lebanon are in a panic. Perhaps the Jews will be able to "use their strength to defeat the enemy" and break the enemy's defense with force?

　Chapter 439: The President Dies Again! What Happens to My Promotion?

　In modern society after entering the 20th century, any protracted large-scale war will produce spillover effects to varying degrees.

　If one of the parties involved in the war is actually the world hegemon, it will become a global news hotspot and be watched by countless reporters at all times.

　Therefore, when the Vietnam War in this dimension escalated into a full-scale nuclear war, and the Vietcong received Soviet-aided miniature nuclear bombs, enabling them to retaliate with "nuclear guerrilla warfare," Egypt and Syria, the Soviet Union's allies on the other side of Asia, where large numbers of Soviet troops were stationed, immediately requested that the Kremlin, without favoritism, also provide them with a batch of nuclear bombs for use in the inevitable war of revenge against Israel.

　——In the third Middle East war that broke out two years ago, the Arab countries were beaten badly by Israel and their faces were peeled off.

　Jordan lost Jerusalem in this war and was driven back to the other side of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea by the Israeli army. Syria lost the Golan Heights, and its capital Damascus was directly exposed to Jewish artillery.

　Egypt not only lost Gaza, which it had captured during the first Middle East War, but also lost the entire Sinai Peninsula, which is larger than the entire territory of Israel. From then on, it was forced to confront the Israeli army across the Suez Canal, throwing mines and shipwrecks into the canal at each other, blocking the waterway.

　As a result, the Suez Canal, an important node in the world's maritime shipping, has been cut off to this day. More than a dozen merchant ships from various countries are trapped in the large bitter lake in the middle of the canal. They cannot go north to the Mediterranean Sea or south to the Red Sea, and can only sit in the lake and suffer.

　For Egypt, which holds high the banner of "Nasserism" and is ambitious to integrate the Arab nation, this scene is extremely embarrassing.

　Not to mention, after the Suez Canal is cut off, Egypt will also lose a large amount of toll revenue, making its financial situation even worse.

　In short, in the past two years, except for the Kingdom of Jordan which chose to completely lie down and accept its fate, and began to expel the Palestine Liberation Organization that had fled to Jordan while kneeling down to seek peace with Israel, Syria and Egypt have been working hard to strengthen themselves, train their troops and prepare for war, in an attempt to avenge their previous humiliation on the battlefield.

　However, Israel may seem like a small country, but it is actually very difficult to deal with because it has the United States, the leader of the "free world," standing behind it.

　Consider the US's recent willingness to deploy millions of troops, launch hundreds of hydrogen bombs, and squander trillions of dollars in military spending to maintain its South Vietnamese ally. If the Arab coalition truly defeats Israel, the US will likely launch a new crusade, unleashing its entire nuclear arsenal.

　In order to stop the United States from going crazy, we can only use the fist of another big boss to help the White House and Capitol Hill calm down a little.

　Therefore, in order to fight against Israel, which had an open supply of arms from the United States, Syria and Egypt tried their best to get closer to the Soviet Union in order to obtain advanced weapons.

　Today, Syria has leased its port to the Soviet Union to serve as a military port for the Soviet Red Navy in the Mediterranean, and the number of Soviet troops stationed in Egypt has reached 20,000. These two major powers in the Arab world can be said to have shown their sincerity in turning to the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union cannot but express its intention.

　In response to the demands made by Syria and Egypt, the Kremlin held several meetings and argued with each other.

　The argument went on and on, but in the end, considering that even the Khmer Rouge guerrillas in Cambodia were dropping nuclear bombs on people all day long, it seemed there was no need to keep hiding it from the Arabs.

　As a result, Nasser of Egypt and Assad of Syria soon obtained a large number of Soviet nuclear weapons with a TNT equivalent of thousands of tons.

　Next, since Egypt and Syria possessed Soviet nuclear weapons and were showing signs of wanting to destroy the "Jewish Homeland," the United States had no choice but to provide Israel with nuclear weapons to restore the nuclear balance in the Middle East. The first batch of American hydrogen bombs had already arrived in Tel Aviv.

　It is conceivable that if nuclear weapons cannot play a role in deterring war, the next Middle East war will probably become a nuclear war.

　Imagine Tel Aviv, Israel's capital, on the Mediterranean coast, being rained down with fire by a nuclear bomb, or Cairo, Egypt's ancient capital, on the Nile River, being devastated by a hydrogen bomb, with mushroom clouds rising behind the pyramids. It seems quite exciting! It's very much like "Red Alert"!

　If they also bombed the holy city of Jerusalem with a hydrogen bomb, turning the Jewish "Wailing Wall" into a "Wailing Pit"...

　Will both Christians and Jews have to wear bulky protective suits to make a "pilgrimage" to the radiation-filled pit?

　Oh, why does it feel like it has a bit of a Fallout Bible or apocalyptic wasteland vibe? It's even more exciting, isn't it?

　In addition, in history before Firi traveled through time, Colonel Gaddafi of Libya once took $100 million to buy nuclear bombs from China, which ended up in an embarrassing situation: even though Beijing was short of foreign exchange reserves at the time, it did not dare to risk the world's condemnation, break the consensus of major powers, and take the lead in selling nuclear bombs to the third world!

　If this angers the United States and it re-imposes trade sanctions on China, even if Libya gets the $100 million, it may not be able to spend it.

　Besides, not only is Colonel Ka a weirdo, he is also from Taiwan's "Yuanpeng Class". It is really hard to trust his sincerity, and people are afraid that this guy is a liar who is here to set a trap - so Beijing rejected the atomic bomb deal, and Colonel Ka embarked on the heaven-defying journey of angrily confronting the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

　But in a world where nuclear proliferation is inevitable, if Colonel Kaplan were to come to China with another $100 million to buy nuclear bombs, Beijing would probably just hold its nose and sell them. After all, the guerrillas in Indochina already have atomic bombs, so what else can't China sell from its relatively small nuclear arsenal?

　The real question is, would Colonel Kasparov in this dimension still be willing to pay China $100 million for nuclear bombs? If he really wanted atomic bombs, he could probably just go to Egypt and talk to Nasser, and he could get some nuclear bombs back, and then blow them up in the desert for show, right?

　Seeing that Egypt and Syria had nuclear weapons, Iraq quickly and brazenly approached Moscow, stating that while its territory didn't border Israel, in the spirit of Arab brotherhood, Iraq had enthusiastically participated in every Middle East war—indeed, it had sent a few Iraqi volunteers. So, it wasn't just Syria and Egypt that needed nuclear weapons to fight the Jews; Iraq needed them too!

　At this time, Brezhnev, who had already sent out a lot of nuclear bombs, was so tired of sending out nuclear bombs that he also gave nuclear weapons to Iraq.

　Next, seeing that the Arabs had obtained the Soviet atomic bomb and Israel had obtained the American hydrogen bomb, Iran, another major ally of the United States in the Middle East under the rule of the Pahlavi dynasty, was also eager to ask the United States for nuclear bombs, and specifically asked for large-yield hydrogen bombs.

　According to the King of Iran, even if the atomic bomb was not used to bomb Iraq or Afghanistan, it would be great to set off a big firework at the 2500th anniversary celebration of the Persian Empire: 1971 was the 2500th anniversary of the establishment of the Persian Empire, and he had been preparing for this celebration for a long time.

　——Although it seems a bit strange that the Pahlavi family, who came from the steppe Cossacks, went to worship Cyrus the Great who founded Persia, and it also reminded some Western intellectuals of the ancient Roman emperor "Philip the Arab" who held the "Millennium Celebration of the Founding of Rome".

　(The Roman throne in the third century was very chaotic, with black emperors and Arab emperors popping up.)

　But the Iranian king had obviously gone crazy and was determined to hold a celebration at the ruins of Persepolis to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of Cyrus the Great's founding of the Persian Empire, in order to boast about his civil and military achievements... He didn't care even if he was scolded by the people for his extravagance.

　Then, India and Pakistan, the old enemies on the South Asian subcontinent, were greatly stimulated when they saw mushroom clouds rising one after another on the neighboring Indochina Peninsula. They competed to obtain nuclear weapons: if they could buy them, that would be the best, but if they couldn’t, they would develop them themselves!

　What nuclear non-proliferation principle! You two great powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, have already allowed wild atomic bombs to grow in the rainforest, but you won't allow others to make their own?

　South American nations also held a keen interest in the rapidly proliferating nuclear weapons. This was particularly true of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, which prided themselves on being the "little powers of the Southern Hemisphere." However, South America was, after all, the United States' backyard, and the rulers of each nation were hesitant to ally with the Soviet Union, fearing a potential US takeover.

　The Cuba in this dimension has long been blackened by nuclear bombs. Without Red Cuba as the "revolutionary beacon of the Western Hemisphere", the development momentum of the Latin American Red Revolution is far less than that of the other timeline. Instead, the situation of warlords fighting and gangs rampant is even more serious.

　Therefore, in this period of nuclear weapons proliferation

　Amidst the wave of protests, South American countries appeared to be relatively well-behaved on the surface, but it is hard to say what they were doing behind the scenes.

　In addition, many African tyrants and lunatics with lofty ambitions have also expressed great interest in the atomic bomb, which is now a hot seller around the world, such as Macie in Equatorial Guinea, Bokassa in Central Africa, etc. It is hard to imagine what abstract things they will do with the atomic bomb after getting it.

　Looking around the world, it seems that there is a risk of nuclear explosions everywhere. And the American ambassador is bound to become a target for many people to attack with nuclear bombs to increase their reputation.

　That's why Fili said that if they wanted to find a safe and prosperous place for Hugh Hefner to serve as ambassador next year, it would probably be difficult to do so. There were certainly some such places, but there were even more people with connections that were more powerful and had deeper networks than the owner of Playboy...

　-

　"In addition, after learning that Congress had approved hydrogen bomb aid to Israel, the white regimes in Iceland and South Africa also submitted applications to the White House. One said they wanted to use atomic bombs to scare British fishing boats that came to steal cod, while the other said they needed a large number of nuclear bombs to suppress black unrest."

　Phiri continued, "Although many people in the Pentagon think that the South African authorities are going too far in using nuclear bombs to fight a security war, I think South Africa may be serious about this - they may really want to eradicate the black indigenous people!"

　——Referring to the practical experience of the Mongols, security warfare is not unsolvable. The most effective tactic to resolve security warfare is to massacre the city: because the key to the success of security warfare is to increase the cost of human social governance. Then, conversely, as long as there is no human society, there is no need for governance!

　If the white South Africans could have wiped out all the blacks like the Americans did to the Indians, how could there have been a reversal in the future?

　Of course, it would also be very interesting if Iceland could turn the "Cod War" with the UK into an "Arctic Nuclear War".

　—The flash of the nuclear explosion was the same color as the aurora in the night sky, and the mushroom cloud enveloped the melting ice and icebergs...

　It would be even more interesting if there was a Greenpeace environmentalist girl shouting "Oyster Sauce" in anger.

　In fact, not only small countries want to have nuclear weapons, but even many non-state organizations want to make a big news with nuclear weapons!

　"Next, according to CIA intelligence, the Irish Republican Army has also recently been trying to collect nuclear bombs, preparing to 'nuclearize' the British Isles and strike a devastating blow against the British Empire, which is on its last legs, so as to separate Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and unify the entire island of Ireland..." said Phiri.

　"Huh? The Irish are going to use nuclear bombs to beat up the Brits? That's too much! If this continues unchecked, soon even the gang wars in South America will be armed with nuclear weapons, and African tribal wars will involve dropping nuclear bombs on each other!"

　Hugh Hefner tilted his head back to chug a glass of wine, mumbling and complaining, "How's the situation back home this past year? The streets of Los Angeles seem pretty peaceful. Even the anti-war groups protesting with signs seem pretty well behaved. Didn't the niggers revolt this year?"

　"Ever since President Johnson pushed Congress to enact martial law last year, more than half of the nation's cities have implemented curfews. Terrorist mobile teams stationed in major cities are ready to strike hard at any black person who dares to cause trouble."

　Firi replied, "After being bombarded repeatedly for several years, the black political groups in the country are finally starting to feel scared..."

　What he didn't say was that, at the same time, the federal government quietly launched the "Great Replacement Plan," bringing in a large number of Latin American immigrants, Vietnam War refugees from Southeast Asia, and Asian stowaways to replace the increasingly dishonest and unreliable African Americans in recent years...

　Although these immigrants may settle down for a generation or two in the United States, they may still cause trouble in the future. But who would worry about such a distant event?

　Not to mention, he himself is an Irishman, who is traditionally considered a "white person who is not really white" in the United States!

　"Indeed, the only way to deal with niggers is to hit them hard. Without violence, there is no way to make them understand who is the master of this country!"

　Hugh Hefner nodded in agreement. Although he sometimes presented himself as a leftist and even associated with many white left-wing celebrities, in essence, by 21st-century standards, this bunny girl breeder was still a moderate racist who wasn't too extreme.

　Just count how many black girls have appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine since its inception, and you'll understand what he's thinking.

　"But using violence also has costs. The federal government's deficit has already exceeded one trillion dollars..."

　"Honey, what are you mumbling about hiding here? Come over and cut the cake! Don't keep the guests waiting!"

　Ferry was about to continue talking about this topic with the Playboy boss who had just returned from Saigon, but Marita reached out and pulled him up.

　It turned out that today's celebration party had reached the stage of cutting the cake. Everyone was holding small plates and waiting for Fili to share the cake with a smile.

　Fili took the knife that Marita handed him and walked to the dining table covered with white linen. In the middle of the table was a rectangular cream cake with a layer of blueberry jam on top. The icing on it was all made into star patterns. At first glance, it looked like a starry night sky.

　In addition, in the center of the cake

　, and there is also an exquisite Apollo spacecraft model...

　Fili couldn't help but smile when he saw this. He first reached out to take down the Apollo spacecraft model on the cake and gave it to the little boy who had been pestering him and wanted to visit the space battleship.

　Next, just as Fieri was about to cut the cake into eight pieces, he saw his secretary, Wolf Lee, a fat guy from Texas who seemed to have gained weight recently, running over breathlessly, then leaning close to Fieri's ear, telling him a shocking piece of latest news.

　"What? President Kennedy Jr. was assassinated in Singapore?! Damn it! It's been less than a year since the last president was assassinated!"

　Fili was instantly in a state of panic, and the knife in his hand fell to the ground with a clang. "Now the president is dead again! What will happen to my promotion?"

　Author's words: PS: Think about a question. In the existing cyberpunk setting, it seems that company shares are still very important.

　But why can't they just use violence to confiscate the shares? Shouldn't those who wield force be able to do whatever they want? For example, could the chairman simply declare the shares invalid, taking all the company assets into his own hands, and then sack the major shareholders? Or perhaps just leave them homeless?